Air cooler



Nov. 19, 1929.

Filed NOV. 50. 192'7 s. E. LAUER AIR COOLER 3 Sheets-'Sheet l AQTTOAhwK Nov.

S. E. LAUER AIR COOLER Filed NOV. 30, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet I5k /A/ Inf/vrom @Tfn/Aer i. ,ww/5R v @w fw,

Patented Nov. 19, 1929 t UNITED STATES vPATENT OFFICE STEWART E. LAURE, Ol' YORK, PENNBYLVANILABSIGNOB. T YORK ICE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION F DELAWARE TAIR COOLER Application fled November purposes, involving temperatures from about 40 F. downward.

An object of my inv ntion is the cooling of air by means of a coo lng 1i uid sprayed`into the moving air and the coo ing liquid being caught ina liquidtank. In connection with this feature of my invention an object is cooling the cooling liquid by means of a refrigeratmg medium in pipes, in which such cooling liquid is sprayed on the pi es and runs down these pipes in the form o a thin film, thus extracting heat from the refrigerating fluid and flowing into the tank as a cooling liquid which is again pumped and forced through the sprays into the moving air. i

' Another object of my invention 1s a surplus moisture eliminator which is arranged with a series of vertical bailles or closely placed parallel plates, these plates having a `series of angles so that the moving air, after being sprayed by theicooling liquid, will be strained of such liquid so that the air will not entrain or carry any of the cooling liquid except such as is in the form of absorbed moisture.

Another object of my invention is'to operate a ventilator and additional humidifier in connection with the air previously conditioned and operate this to draw oi a certain amount of the air having objectionable gases, fumes, or odors therein, and to replace this with fresh air. In connection with the ventilator and humidili'er I utilizea device for spraying a. cooling liquid on the indrawn air,

and in accordance with the place of discharge of the air regulate the relative vcooling and ,humidifying f A more detailed object of the ventilator and humidifier vis creating a substantially dead air space outside of the cooling 'and eliminator chamber and by means of the chilling action in the humidiier,drawing of objectionable light gases or air having an objectionable odor from adjacent the ceiling and in such substantially dead air spaces. The vol- '50 lime of'thisvalthus eliminated is replacedby 30, 1987. Serial No. 238,607.

incoming air drawn into the'ventilator and humidifier.

Considering my invention generally it embodies the features vof a chamber through 'which air is preferably moved by a suctionfair at the outlet and at the base of this chamber there is a tank having a cooling liquid,

such as brine, in the chamber. Spaced longil tudinally thereof there are a series of spray p1pes having spra nozzles, and immediately 1n lthepath o the sprays from each of the sets of nozzles there are positioned a bankof refrigerating coils such as coils having liquid anhydrous ammonia therein. The liq- 41nd 1s pumped. from the tank into the spray 'f pipes under pressure, and from such pipes is s rayed on the refrigerating coils and, as a v e mentioned, due to the thin film of liquid on the coils chills this liquid very rapidly. The veliminator constructed transversely across the air chamber has a sealing late which extends downwardly into the hquid of the tank and prevents flow of air under the eliminator. In large sized installations the eliminator is preferably made in lower and upper units, the lower unit resting on" a horizontal or slightly inclined plate and having a series of thin vertical plates which are bent in a zigzag manner, having deep return bends at each turn of the zigzag. These plates are preferably secured in position by'angle irons or'bars at the lower and upper edges and securely clampled together by horizontal bolts extending t rough the' plates adjacent the forward and discharge edges. If the air more stacks; for a high air chamber an upper set of eliminator plates -is supported on the lower set, there being a horizontal plate therebetween resting on the top of the lower setand the upper set being formed in a similar manner tothe lower set. A horizontal trough is arranged to catch the water from the upper set of eliminators which flows down such set and-works its way to the side of the metal plate. These eliminators are installed so that no air may pass between the sides and top of the eliminator and the walls of the air chamber, but all the air is force'd to pass Y through the eliminator plates,

chamber is wide, these may be made in two or A The ventilator and humidifencomprises a suitable tower-like structure w1th a pipe leading from the top thereof and extending outside of the cooling chamber, such chamber havingan outlet fan forward of the intake to the ventilator and humidifier and this 1ntake is positioned to draw air yfrom a dead air space adjacent the ceiling. The air passes down through a pipe which extends through the ventilator and humidifier and out to the atmosphere. The circulation is established both by the chilling action of the coollng liquid being sprayed in the ventilator and humidifier, or air drawn in from a pipe leading to the atmosphere, and by positive circulatlon of the pressure side of the fan, compensating for the volume of fresh air drawn in through this ventilator and humidifier. The amount of cooling and the relative humidity of the incoming air -to replace the vitiated air is regulated by a series of outlets from the tower at different elevations.

As a detailed improvement in the cooling liquid circulation, I provide a strainer on the outlet from the tank to the pump having a series of screens, any one of which may be removed for cleansing, leaving others in operation.

Drawings In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section as if taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2 in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section as if taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 3-3 of'Fig. 1, in the direction of the arrows, showing one of the cooling and refrigerating units in elevation, with details of the mechanism controlling the cooling medium in the radiator caps.

Fig. 4 is a top plan partly broken away of the eliminator for extracting the entrained moisture from the air, illustrating the contour and arrangement of its baffle plate.

Fig. 5 is a fragmental vertical section of Fig. 4 on the line 5-5, in the direction of the line 8-8 of Fig. 7 in the directionof the arrows. A'

Fig. 9 is a. detail section through the edge plates of the eliminator lshowing their' attachment and manner of clamping together.

Fig. 10 is a detail vertical Section Onth line 10-10 of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a plan of a length of tube bent to form two of the coil-pipes.

A l Description The main structural features of my air cooler comprise an air chilling chamber designated as A, having side walls 12, a lioor 13, a ceiling 14, a wall at the intake 15 and a wall 16 at the outlet, these latter walls connecting to intake ducts and discharge ducts, respectively. At the base of each of the inclined walls there is a short vertical cross wall 17. It will be understood that all the various walls are suitably constructed with insulating material for proper heat insulation.

On the iioor there is constructed a' cooling liquid tank 18 which in the illustrationis rectangular in shape and comparatively shallow compared with. the height of the'. whole chamber. This is made of a suitable material such as galvanized iron to withstand the action of drying. The walls of the chamber are also preferably lined with galvanized iron or other suitable material and made substantially watertight to withstand the action of drying.

Above the tank there are also preferably inlet doors 19, these being formed of double thickness and having suitable gaskets and.

clamping devices to form an air and liquid tight door. Such doors are used for inspec-V tion as well as cleansing and replacing operations. '1

Adjacent the outlet and forward of tHe wall 16 there is a vertical reticulated partition 20 which has openings therethrough and one or more electrical fans 21 are actuated by electric motors 22 supported in suitable frames 23,which frames may be connected to the wall 20. It will thus be seen that this fan operates as. a suction fan creating a partial vacuum in the chamber A and discharging the air under the desired pressure` into the discharge chamber In this chamber v24 there are a series 'of transverse ballles 25 to create a substantially dead. air space 26 adjacent the ceiling -on the outside of the partition 20.v l v The construction of the cooling units is substantially as follows, havingreference particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

f The liquld or brine sprays comprise a suitloor of the tank 18, and extending transversely of these supports there isV a horizontal header pipe28 which is connected' to aseries 'of stand pipes 29. These Apipes 29 are closed on the top and have a series of spray nozzles 30. Each of the vertical pipes 29 ma be controlled by aI valve 29* if desired. Th

e spray "able supporting frame 27 mounted on Athe no'zz1es30 are preferably equally spaced on chargedftherefromin the direction of the are .the standepipes 29 sothat the spraysdisf .I

' pump is through a pipe 38 having a valve.

of air through the cooler being in the direction of the arrow 32.

The cooling liquid such as brine, as above mentioned, is contained in the comparatively shallow tank 18. and is drawn out through a strainer 33 having a pluralit of screens 34. These screens 34 are arrange zso that one or more may be withdrawn at a time, always leaving a screenin place, so that the screens may be properly cleaned. The liquid then passes through an outlet pipe 35 havin a valve 36 and through a pump 37, preferaly of the centrifugal type. The flow from the 39 therein and feeder pipes 40 in which there is a pressure gauge 41. These feeder pipes connect the cross header 28.

The cooling units C have a refrigerating liquid passing therethrough, such as anhydrous ammonia. These units C comprise a suitable stands 43 made preferably of a metal frame work and have lower and upper headers 44 and 45, there being shown two cross headers in each unit. Connected to the headers there are refrigerating or radiator pipes 46. It will. be noted that the pipes facing the cooling liquid sprays are straight as they connect on the upper header and are bent at the connection to the lower headers, as indicated at 47 whereas, the rearward pipes are curved at their upper connection 48 to the upper headers and straight at their connection to the lower headers. f

These units are preferablytilted slightly in the direction of a flow 0 air, as are also the stand pipes 29 of the spray. ThisA arrangement takes care of the dro of the sprayed liquid due to gravity, and glves more even sprayingon the cooling units than if these were vertical. It will be noted by reference to Fig. 3 that the pipes 46 are staggered so as to substantially form a complete bank of radiator pipes across the cooling chamber and contacting with substantially all the liquid sprayed from the nozzles 30.

The manner. of controlling the cooling medium in the radiator pipes, such as anhydrous ammonia, is shown particularly in Fig. 3. In this connection there is a trap 49 which has a pipe connection 50 at its base to a longitudinal feeder 51 which is connected to the lower headers 44. There is also an upper pipe 52- which leads to an upper feed pipe 53 and is controlled by a valve 54, this upper feed pipe 53 connecting to the upper cross headers 45. A balanced type float valve 55 is also emplo led and has an equalizin pipe connection 56 between the valve and t e trap 49, there .being a valve 57 between.

valve is supplied through a pipe 60, havinga valve 61 therein. The rate of flow of the refrigerating liquid is controlled by the float kvalve 55 and this valve being merely a metering valve and not a tight shut oli valve, is protected against` leak during shut down periods by electric motor 62 operating on a stop valve 61. 4This motor 62 is started and stoppedv through electric ywire leads 63 to a thermostatically operated switch 64. This switch 64 receives its motion to open and close the motor circuit, from a thermostat 65 which is submerged in the cold liquid, such .as brine, in the shallow tank in the air cooling chamber.

The regulation of theflow ofthe refrigerating liquid will be readily understood from the above description by those familiar with the art and as the immediate flow, except the manner of control, does not form an immediate part of this invention, it is not described in detail.

The eliminator for detraining the suspendedl cooling liquid from the air, designate gen- 1 erally by the letter E, is constructed substantially as follows, having reference particularly to Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6:

The eliminator .E has a metal stand 111 formed of plates which rest on the bottom of the tank in the air chamber, and on top of this there is a horizontal plate 112, which extends between side walls of the air chamber and is suiliciently strong and braced to support the load of the plates 113 forming the eliminator. These verticalplates 113 have a series of plane surfaces 114 joined by hooks or reverse bends 115; the surfaces 114 themselves being at an angle, oneto the other, forming a zigzag plate extending in the direction of the flow of air. The lower edges of the plates at the intake and discharge end have angleirons 116, the lower iange 116 of which is secured to the plate 112, with bars 117 Figure 4 between each of the plates; and substantially all of the plates except the side lates have a bent edge 118 extending aroun the vertical ange 119 of the bars 117, this flange 119 being cut slightly shorter than the length of the bars 117. (Note Figs. 4, 10 and 9). l

Clampin bolts 120 having angular washers 121 or the like and heads and nuts 122 are used to clamp the stack of plates together, and for convenience, these stacks are ar.- ranged in two sections, side by side, and each sectlon extends about halfway tothe top of the air chamber. Above the lower stack there is a horizontal shelf 123 which is formed of a metal plate secured to angle irons 124 on the top, front andv rear edges of the eliminator plates (Fi 5). Thus, the lower stack 126 sup t e upper-. stack 127. The u per stac is of the same type of construction,` avcorners at the intake and outlet edges of each of the zigzag plates. 'At the top there is a .ingangle irons holdmg the lower and upper lo 'the air chamber.

suitable frame structure 128 which is secured to the roof of the air chamber.

In order to prevent air passing betwee the eliminator and the sides of the air chamber, one of the side plates has an extension 129 which is bent inwardly to the wall of the air chamber and has its end 130 secured thereto; the plate on the opposite side also has an extension 131 which is secured to the wall of The shelf 123 collects the water from the upper set'of baffle plates, that is, from the upper stack, and this drains into a transverse trou h 132 whichis secured to the intake side of t e eliminator and has discharge pipes 133 leading downwardly to the tank in the base of the air chamber.

In the operation of my air cooler, the zigzag bafiie plates trap the moisture carried in the air passing through the eliminator and especially the air bein deflected at the reverse bends of each of t e sections of the zigzag. The air-is given a sudden substantially angular or reverse motion, this causing the particles of moisture to be deposited on the plates down which they run or trickle, and the moisture in the upper stack collects on the shelf 123. (See Fig. 5.)

As above mentioned, the water on the shelf 123 runs into the transverse trough 132, and thence into the tank at the base of the air chamber. The water on the' plate 112 drips directly into the tank. It is advisable to have an upturned rim 134 on the discharge side of the plate 112 and on the shelf 123, in order to prevent the moisture collected thereon from blowing towards the outlet end of the device and again being taken up by the A further feature of my invention comprises the ventilator and humidifier H illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 7 and 8. This apparatus 'comprises a tower-like structure 91 preferably made cylindrical and mounted on a base92. The lower' end of the tower is open, as indicated at 98, but it is intended that this end is to be immersed in the liquid in the tank. Vitiated air or air having obnoxious gases contained therein is drawn into the ventilator and humidifier by an intake pipe 94 which is positioned on the outflow side of the partition 20 (see Fig. l), the tower 91 being positioned forward of said partition 2 0.' This' leads through a horizontal pipe 95 to a vertical pipe 97 inthe tower, discharging through a horizontal outflow 98 and discharging into the atmosphere, as indicated by flow arrow 99 (see Fig. 2). 'Y

Air is drawn into the tower 91 by a fresh air intake pipe 100 drawing air from the outside atmosphere, and this air leads into the upper part of the tower, as indicated at 101. There are a plurality of outlets 102 for treated air located at different elevations in the tower and some of these are protected by a bafe plate 103. Each of the outlets 102 has a cap 104 which may be readily pulled out and thus removed.

The air is cooled and humidilied by means of the plural spray nozzles 105 which are 108. In accordance with this construction the spray nozzles may be adjustably positioned at any `desired elevation on the pipe 97 and thus at any desired height in the tower 91.

The action of this ventilator and humidifier is substantially as follows:

At the intake 94 for the vitiated air or air having light obnoxious gases there is a positive pressure due to the fan which is greater than the pressure in the cooling chamber A, on account of the fan drawing air out of the cooling chamber and giving a slight positive pressure on the outside. 'As this air in the pipe 97 is cooled by the cooling sprays from the nozzles 105, the air has a downward flow through the pipes 95, 96 and 97 and out to space as above described, so that the propor-y i tion of air and gases desired to be removed are not in a turbulent state.

An amount of fresh air is drawn in through the pipe equalling that drawn out from the air in the cooling system discharged through the outlet 98. This fresh air, drawn in, is cooled and also humidified as may be required, by the spray nozzles in the tower, and the regulation is such that the fresh air from the outside is caused to absorb enough moisture until -it is at such a point in relative humidity that in mixing with the air that has already been cooled by passage through the spray cooling chamber, the combination will be discharged into the duct feeding the compartments to be cooled, at the proper average relative humidity desired. This feature is ferent discharge outlets 102. For instance,

if the upper plug is removed as this is located above the spray nozzles, the incoming air will not be humidified to any great extent, because its temperature will not be materially reduced by contact with the sprays in the tower. If the plugvon the next lower outlet is removed, the air will be subjected to the spray during a short passage and will be partially humidiiied, and if the third plug from the top is removed, the air is subjected to the spray for the greatest increase in relative humidity to the incoming fresh air by longer exposure to the spray.

From the above description` together with the drawings, it will be seen that I have deuid; hence there does not need to be a shallow tankl'is required for the coolin liqarge quantity of such cooling liquid. Also, that the liquid is cooled by a lm contact with refrigerating coils. After this the entrained moisture is removed from the air and as a subsequent step, vitiated air is removed from the main body of the air and replaced b fresh air which is properly humidifie Moreover, by the proper setting 0f the thermostat and the adjustment of the valves, the the action may be practically automatic and maintained atV practically constant temperature. l

As above described it is to be understood that brine mayy be utilized as the cooling liq uid where a relatively low temperature is wanted, but if a temperature higher than freezing is satisfactory, water cooling may be utilized.

The contour of the pipes 46 is designed with minimum curvature to reduce the resistance of said pipes to the refrigeratin fluid as nearly as possible to a minimum. aid pipes 46 are formed in practice from a single length of pipe 46 bent to U-shape as shown inv Fig. 11. When so bent, the curved pipe is bisected at the center of its grooved portion as indicated by the line a-b in Fig. 11. The halves thus formed are lmounted in the headers 44-45 in the manner shownin Fig'. 1, the curved portion of one pipe 46 being uppermost and the curved terminal of its opposed pipe 46 being mounted downwardly. Because of this construction, in producing a coil of very low resist-ance, it is possible to construct the entire assembly, as illustrated in Fig. 3, with the float valve 55 and the trap 49 very close to the plane of the top of the coll C.

arious changes may be made in the described embodiment of my air cooler without departing from my actual invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim: 1. In an air cooler. in combination, a. combined ventilator and humidifier comprising a tower having an open, bottom, and a vertical air circulation pipe; an annular tube encir-m cling and vertically adjustable on said vertical air circulation pipe; and a plurality of spray nozzles mounted on said annular tube. 1 2. In an air cooler, in combination, a combined ventilator and humidifier comprising a tower having an open bottom, and a verti- \cal a1r clrculation pipe; a split ring enclrcling and vertically adjustable on said vertical air circulation pipe; a plurality of spray nozzles mounted on said split ring; v said .tower having a plurality of -outlet openings at different elevations, and a series .of removable closures for said outlet openings.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

STEWART E. LAUER. 

